Protecting 30% of land, water by 2030 increases access
We can make outdoor space more inclusive and conserve
From a young age, some of my most vivid memories are from time spent outside cycling with my family and kayaking with my father in Puerto Rico. Now, as an adult, I still have that same passion for getting outside and connecting my community with the outdoors. Like so many of us living in New Mexico, the love we have for our public lands and communities permeates our everyday lives. My love of lands like Petroglyph National Monument and Valle de Oro Wildlife Refuge is why I am grateful to Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller for signing on to a letter to President Biden in support of his executive order establishing a goal of protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030 while increasing access to the outdoors for all.
Unfortunately, though many of us might share this love of the outdoors, not everyone has the same access to nature. For too long, the costs and impacts of nature loss have fallen disproportionately on lowincome people and communities of color. Seventy-four percent of communities of color and 70% of low-income communities in the contiguous United States live in nature-deprived areas. Albuquerque neighborhoods with a majority of non-white residents experience a lack of public transportation options to access parks and open space, especially on weekends with only 18% of communities of color having good access to parks and open space. On top of that, the nature we do have is deteriorating. From 2001 to 2017, more than 24 million acres of land were lost to human development in the lower 48 states, which equals the loss of one football field-sized patch of land every 30 seconds.
By conserving and protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030, we have an opportunity to work toward a more inclusive and equitable vision for nature conservation that better reflects our New Mexico values. We must focus on improving access to outdoor spaces close to home and restoring degraded lands and waters. Better access to parks and open space provides physical, spiritual and mental health benefits.
Latino Outdoors, an organization I volunteer with locally, focuses our efforts on making outdoor spaces more equitable and inclusive while instilling a conservation ethic in the youth with whom we connect. We help ensure they understand these spaces are for all of us to enjoy and take care of. We inspire, connect and engage Latino communities in the outdoors while embracing culture and family as part of the outdoor narrative. In Albuquerque, we do this by reducing the barriers to nature for communities of color, particularly for residents in the International District.
We increase access to places outdoors through our participation in The Wilderness Society’s Urban to Wild program and support community-led initiatives to rewild urban spaces like the Valle de Oro Wildlife Refuge in the South Valley. We aim to redefine the narrative of who belongs in the outdoors. By advancing placebased conservation initiatives while building a more inclusive, equitable and just approach to the restoration, stewardship, and access of our lands, New Mexico is uniquely positioned to implement the 30x30 plan and conserve more land, water and wildlife habitat.
As we have seen over just the past few years, New Mexico has proven we understand the need to include environmental justice and equity in statewide policies through programs like the Outdoor Equity Fund, the establishment of the Outdoor Recreation Division, and the passage of the Energy Transition Act and the Wildlife Corridors Act. Please join me in thanking Mayor Keller for continuing to strive for bold, community-led, and equitable conservation policies that ensure that future generations of New Mexicans may continue to make memories outdoors with our families and neighbors.